The present invention relates to a process for preparing a high molecular weight compound which is soluble in solvents and moldable and has an average molecular weight of more than 20,000.
Hithereto, polyoxyalkylene high molecular weight compounds having an average molecular weight of not less than 20,000 have been prepared by, for instance, as represented by polyethylene oxide, polymerizing an alkylene oxide such as ethylene oxide in the presence of a special catalyst such as diethylzinc, strontium carbonate or triethylaluminum under a special polymerization condition (e.g. in a solvent such as n-hexane, 1,4-dioxane or n-heptane. However, in such a conventional process, the solvent is indispensible for promoting the polymerization, and a step for removing the solvent such as distillation is required for taking out the product after the completion of the polymerization. Also, since a metal ion such as Zn.sup.2+ or Al.sup.3+ of the metal compound used as a catalyst remains in the so obtained product, it causes a problem upon using the product in various purposes such as a binder for granular agricultural chemicals and a binder for use in inorganic industry.
On the other hand, it is known to prepare water-soluble high molecular weight compounds (polyester resins) by esterifying a relatively low molecular weight polyalkylene glycol used as a glycol component with a dicarboxylic acid such as maleic acid or succinic acid or its derivative. However, in this process, it is necessary to control the content of the polyalkylene glycol low for producing the high molecular weight compounds. For this reason, the product has been merely employed in limited purposes, e.g. modification of polyester fibers.
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel polyoxyalkylene high molecular weight compounds which are soluble in solvents and moldable, and are usable in many purposes.
Another object of the invention is to provide a process for preparing polyoxyalkylene high molecular weight compounds which are soluble in solvents and moldable, and are usable in many purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the description hereinafter.